Alexander Zverev has enjoyed a remarkable rise in the rankings in 2017 and sits at world No. 3 heading into the final tournament of the year – the ATP Finals.

The German started the year outside the top-20 at world No. 24 but two Masters 1000 titles in Rome and Montreal have seen him rocket up the leaderboard to sit just behind Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in the rankings.

While the 20-year-old has performed admirably this season, the youngster has benefited from the absence of established world stars Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikori – all of whom sat inside the top-five at some point in the 2016 season.

Amid their injury struggles, Federer and Nadal have dominated the year – winning all four Grand Slams between them – but Zverev became the first man who is not a member of the ‘Big Four’ since David Nalbandian in 2007 to claim two Masters 1000 titles in the same season and has established himself as one of the top stars in the game.

2017 Masters 1000 winners

But can he leapfrog Federer and Nadal next year with the likes of Djokovic and Murray returning?

‘All of us young guys are working quite hard to maybe replace them a little bit,’ he said ahead of the ATP Finals.

‘We’re working towards winning the biggest tournaments in the world. I’ve won two Masters series this year, I’m still working on getting better and getting further and winning those Grand Slams as well.

‘There’s a lot of question marks about the people who will come back. They’re great players, they’re always going to be tough opponents but this [the rankings] is something I don’t think about that.

Djokovic is on the comeback trail (Picture: AFP/Getty)

Murray will be back in 2018 (Picture: AFP/Getty)

‘I’m just trying to keep playing the best I can and improve even more and try and compete for the bigger tournaments.

‘The more matches you win, the higher you will be in the rankings. It’s as simple as that. There’s still a lot of things I can still improve, and that’s what I’m going to try and do in the off season, that’s what I’m going to do at the beginning of the year.

‘We’ll see how things go next year but I’m not thinking about the rankings too much. I’m not thinking about being world No. 1 or ending next year there. I’m more thinking about what I can do to win every single match that I play.’

Zverev won two Masters 1000 titles in 2017 (Picture: AFP/Getty)

Zverev was also full of praise for the two men sat atop of the ATP rankings and believes Federer and Nadal have been in the form of their lives in 2017.

‘I think maybe Roger and Rafa have been playing the best tennis of their lives this year. I really think that,’ he added.

‘Especially Roger the way he was playing on the faster surfaces this year. It’s amazing. I think Roger has only lost four matches this year.

Can Zverev overtake Federer? (Picture: Getty)

‘It’s amazing the way he’s able to play that way at 36 years old. I’m not saying he’s old or anything.

‘What he’s doing on a tennis court is incredible, also Rafa, how he played in Paris – I think the most he lost in a set was three games. Winning a Grand Slam while only losing three games in a set is unbelievable.